Practice No. 1 is in the books

Day one of practice is in the books. Well, sort of. The freshmen didn't attend the morning session with everyone else because of orientation. They'll be out there later this afternoon. So no one got to see Zach Frazer, Dave Teggart, Cody Endres or any of the walk-ons. Among those walk-ons is Oliver Bernson, a defensive lineman from Studio City, Calif. who just happens to be the son of actor Corbin Bernson. Yep, Roger Dorn Jr. is a Husky. Oliver Bernson, by the way, is 6-foot-4 and 247 pounds. Also walking on is Mike Conroy from Scituate, Mass. Conroy was a supplemental first round draft pick of the Cleveland Indians (43rd overall) in 2001 and played six seasons in the minor leagues. He never advanced past Class A and was a .248 hitter (though he belted a career-high 12 homers last summer) with a handful of stolen bases. Conroy led BC High to the Massachusetts Division I Super Bowl as a quarterback, but he's listed as a wide receiver on the roster.

Some other news and observations:

Lindsey Witten, now 19 pounds heavier at 237, almost looks like a different person. He's much thicker in the neck and arms. He worked with the second team.

Others who've gotten bigger include Cody Brown (now 248), Will Beatty (up to 306 from 280) and Robert Vaughn, who's actually down from three pounds from 192 but looks like he hit the weight room hard. And though Endres wasn't out there, he's listed at 6-4 and 245 (up from the media guide weight of 219). Edsall said he was shocked when he saw the number, and that Endres carries it well. He passed all the physical tests, and will stay there if he can play there.

Dennis Brown perfected the completion that ricochets off the back of the unsuspecting offensive lineman's helmet to the receiver in a skell-o drill. A high degree of difficulty. Mike Hicks was the unlucky lineman. Sometimes being 6-6 has its disadvantages. Hicks made an exaggerated crouch on the next snap so Brown could have a clear throw.

It's only the first day, but Brown had a clear edge in play. His passes were crisp and on target for the most part. Lorenzen wasn't as accurate or pretty with his throws, for what ever that's worth, which probably isn't much. Lorenzen says he feels fine after his spring knee injury, but it was Dennis Brown who had the surgery following the Blue-White Game. Brown says he went under the knife for a meniscus tear in his right knee, which he called minor surgery that kept him out only four weeks.

DahnaDeleston was playing safety with the first team, as if he never left. Edsall said he hopes Deleston's academic issue helped him grow as a person. Deleston used the down time to not only work on his grades, but to buff up in the weight room. He's noticeably bigger.

Practice began outside until the rain got heavy. It moved indoors around 11 a.m.

There was supposed to be no contact Monday, but Aaron Bagsby got leveled by center Keith Gray during a return. Bagsby didn't say much after the hit, neither did Gray. But Tyvon Branch sprung to Bagsby's defense, and wound up dealing mostly with Lawrence Green. Nothing got physical, just some verbal sparring.

Rob Lunn lined up alongside Dan Davis at defensive tackle with the first team, as did Vaughn at safety. Donald Thomas worked at guard with the ones.

The ball sounds different coming off Desi Cullen's foot for field goals, as opposed to Tony Ciaravino. There were more misses than makes, however. We didn't see Teggart, but if he's accurate, he'll have a real shot.

As always, there will be full coverage in the print edition of the New Haven Register tomorrow. Will the stories be online? Don't know. It's not up to me. The paper provides only a sampling of stories online, and I have no control over which ones they use, which I've now explained for the 75th time in the past year.

Two full days before a JFK conspiracy post? I was banking on 12 hours, max.

Rich, I haven't read the book. But I was under the impression it was a foray into the intense relationship between the Kennedy boys and not a JFK assassination investigation. I may have to give it a read, now. Thanks for the heads up.